Unable to find or restore Windows backup after reinstall

witefoda · 08 Feb 2021

I made a backup before reinstalling Windows 10 Pro to a bigger hard drive, and now I'm stuck trying to restore the files and not delete them... I initially went to restore and it seemed like it couldn't find them (I think I may have misread something though), so I found them in the file path like this:

F:\FileHistory\Me\MyPC\Data\C\Users\Me

I then copied over one of the folders (the one I needed the most, but it was huge), and then after a while noticed the file names had dates appended to them, like this:

Valuable document 1 (2020_02_16 01_34_47 UTC).txt

There's about 300GB of files, and I'm sure you can understand not wanting them named like this or having to change them.

I moved them back, but there were actually 2 "MyPC" folders, and I think I may have moved them to the other folder!

F:\FileHistory\Me\MyPC (2)\Data\C\Users\Me

Now that I've found the backups in Backup Settings, I get a warning that I'm not sure I understand...

Unable to find or restore Windows backup after reinstall-drive-doesnt-have-your-most-recent-files.png

The "User name" (Me) and "Computer name" (MyPC) values are the same, and I get the pop-up warning for both "Last backup dates"... and I don't understand what exactly the warning is trying to tell me to do!

"File History" - "Do you want to use this drive for File History again?" - "This drive doesn't have your most recent files. To restore those files, you'll need to reselect the drive you last used."

But... the Backup (F) drive is the only one I made the backup on; that's the only drive to be "last used". I don't know what it's trying to tell me. I don't know if I screwed something up. I don't want to lose my backup if I click something I don't really understand.

Sorry to be an idiot... I really am not seeing how to fix this. Thanks for your patience.

- - - Updated - - -

Oh, I just discovered File History in Control Panel, but I seem to be in a conundrum now...

Unable to find or restore Windows backup after reinstall-control-panel-file-history-not-found.png

So, I clicked on "Restore personal files", which brought me to the "Home - File History" window, which says "No file history was found" and "File History is currently turned off".

I click "Configure File History settings", and it opens the window I was at which says "File History is on"... :facepalm:

I have a "Run now" link below the drive, and then a "Turn off" button below the box... I'm completely confused now.

Is File History on or off? Why am I being told in Restore that it's off, but Backup that it's on? If I click "Run now", will it run the backup of my current files on the new hard drive and wipe the backed-up files on the external drive?

I'm about ready to yank the plug out of the external drive, but I'm too busy ripping my hair out.

steve108 · 09 Feb 2021

Hello witefoda and welcome to TF

,

Sorry I can't help with your immediate needs.

Going forward you may want to consider using Backup and Restore with Macrium Reflect It's what most of us here use to make regular backups.

Steve C · 09 Feb 2021

File History only backs up user files not the OS. It is also unreliable and hard to use. It's OK as a secondary backup of user files but you really need to use a proper backup program to backup the OS and your user files. Macrium Reflect is excellent.

SIW2 · 09 Feb 2021

If the windows file history thing doesn't suit, there are many free file backup programs.

Karen's Replicator has been popular for many years. It has been updated to support win10.

Repeated copies at intervals as short as a few minutes, or as long as several months
Copying only the files that have changed
Ability to exclude files, specifying which files should not be copied etc

Karen's Replicator the Backup Utility for Windows v3.7.6 Released May 25, 2020 | Karen's Power Tools

Bastet · 09 Feb 2021

File History only backs up & recovers personal files, if you wish to recover these after a clean install:
See Glen Gailey’s reply here: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...=AllRepliesThe answer is still good for Windows 10. He states: I just had to try to do this, and I was able to (on a new Win8 machine) point at the previous backup by clicking Drives and then selecting my backup drive (a network share in my case). Then I was able to check "I want to use a previous backup on this File History drive" and it displayed my existing backups on that drive. Finally, I was able to do the regular (if not very intuitive) restore files by clicking the settings icon in the upper right of File History. More in-depth tutorial here:News, Tips, and Advice for Technology Professionals - TechRepublic hope this helps.

SIW2 · 09 Feb 2021

Your techrepublic link not working for me. Ther is a stray i on the end

this one works

How to correctly use File History to transfer data files to a new Windows 10 installation - TechRepublic

Bastet · 09 Feb 2021

Thanks @SIW2.

SIW2 · 09 Feb 2021

Interesting article. Fortunately, there are alternatives, such as Replicator.

witefoda · 14 Feb 2021

Thanks for the info.

The Windows backup/restore worked just fine with the previous install on the other hard drive, and seems to be working fine on the current drive to the current backup drive. The problem is just restoring the files from the old backup on the old drive. I'll try the solutions for restoring and see if they work.

I'd prefer to use Windows' backup because it's not 3rd-party and I have no idea what 3rd-party software will do to/with my files. I understand other programs may already touch my files, but I'd rather not install one that I don't need, especially if it's meant for backing up and restoring files. I know I'm in the minority here. I've used Macrium Reflect for full backups before and it worked fine. But if Windows backup/restore works on the current drive, then I'll stick with it.

Anyway, I have the files on the old drive, so if nothing works then probably just put it into an external drive case and snag the files directly from there. I realize Windows will make me force permissions on it or whatever, but I've gotten through that before.

steve108 · 14 Feb 2021

witefoda said:

Thanks for the info.

The Windows backup/restore worked just fine with the previous install on the other hard drive, and seems to be working fine on the current drive to the current backup drive. The problem is just restoring the files from the old backup on the old drive. I was hoping for a knowledgeable explanation of what I should do in Windows backup/restore or File History settings to fix the problem and restore the files I needed.

I'd prefer to use Windows' backup because it's not 3rd-party and I have no idea what 3rd-party software will do to/with my files. I understand other programs may already touch my files, but I'd rather not install one that I don't need, especially if it's meant for backing up and restoring files. I know I'm in the minority here. I've used Macrium Reflect for full backups before and it worked fine. But if Windows backup/restore works on the current drive, then I'll stick with it.

Anyway, I have the files on the old drive, so I'll probably just put it into an external drive case and snag the files directly from there. I realize Windows will make me force permissions on it or whatever, but I've gotten through that before.

Windows Backup is no longer maintained by M$$, so most of use here use MR. Some few use other 3rd party apps. MR can do tricks Windows Backup can't like cloning and making full backup images.